The Prey Demo Is Actually Coming Out Before The Game Is Released

With Prey set to arrive on May 5, Bethesda is doing a few things differently with the game's launch. For starters, they're bringing out an honest-to-goodness demo for the game. On top of that, said demo will actually be available before the game launches.

Hop onto your console of choice come April 27 and you'll be able to get your hands on the Prey demo a week before the game arrives. That wouldn't be such shocking news a few years back but, nowadays, it's almost unheard of for a game to get a demo, much less before the game actually launches.

According to a press release from the publisher, though, potential visitors to the Talos I space station can enjoy the first hour of the game in order to see if they're picking up what Prey is putting down. In the game, you'll take on the role of Morgan Yu, whose first day on the job goes a little bit sideways. By that, we of course mean that an alien species known as Typhon have gotten loose on the space station and started killing everyone.

Bethesda also dropped a demo trailer for Prey, giving viewers an idea of the type of gameplay they can expect. It also shows off the mind games that appear to be a driving force for the narrative. It doesn't seem like Yu is going to be able to trust anything he sees, hears or thinks while attempting to save the station.

According to the announcement, Yu's team was on the verge of making a breakthrough that would "alter humanity forever." There are apparently no sci-fi movies in the universe where Prey takes place, otherwise they'd know how this story goes before becoming a part of it themselves. Things go really bad really quickly, with Yu caught in the middle and in possession of some rather unique weaponry and abilities. He's got a gun that can build platforms or extinguish fire, for instance, as well as the ability to take control of inanimate objects, like the game's now iconic coffee mug.

The announcement goes on to promise additional gameplay information will be provided in the coming days in the form of some fresh announcement, just in time to lead everyone into the April 27 demo launch.

We're stoked that Arkane Studios and Bethesda are going the old-school route of providing a demo before launch. Personally, nothing gets me to take the plunge with a new game quite as quickly as actually getting to play a bit of it myself. Here's hoping that more publishers follow suit. The games market is pretty crowded these days, and demos are a great tool for getting your title noticed.